How do I transcribe my own photos? or Why are my photos being transcribed by others...I want to do it!!!

A

AYoung

started a topic
about 1 month ago

At the help desk, I see this issue a lot! I either have people upset over their photos being transcribed by others or people upset over photos being locked. How does this all work anyway, you might ask?

Our current policy is this...

When you leave a cemetery and are about to close the camera, the app will give you a prompt in a box that asks: Do you want to transcribe your own photos?

If you push no, these will be released to the general public as soon as they are uploaded.

If you push yes, they will be locked for 14 days. The 14 day window begins on the day of uploading. If I upload them on the 1st, they will be released to the general public on the 14th. If I took them on the 1st, but didn't upload them until the 10th, they will be released on the 24th and so forth. Why?

We love our transcribers and couldn't do it without you! However, our photo takers are the saving grace of this entire operation! If you go out into a cemetery whether it is near your home or thousands of miles away, we want to give every opportunity for these individuals the right to transcribe photos they may have taken. This is only fair, as taking photos can be rewarding and is pretty strenuous at times too!

JamesD

said
20 days ago

The 14 days are simply not long enough if you have taken a lot of photos. You should haveAT LEAST ONE MONTH!

Also, I am now in the situation where a block of photos was too hard to read, so I waited until the light was better and retook the pictures. Before I could delete them and upload the better ones someone partially transcribed my unclear photos so I can no longer delete them and replace them with the better pictures. This is immensely frustrating to me, and if that isn't fixed, I am simplynot going to do them anymore!

A

AYoung

said
17 days ago

If you send the URL's of these photos customer support is always happy to replace poor photos with better ones.

As for having at least one month, this is something we can't do at this point. I understand your pain, I really do. As I just took over 2,000 photos in cemeteries 5 states away and couldn't get to them quick enough before they were all transcribed. However, you can always go back over other's transcriptions and I do frequently! When another transcriber does a poor job of it, I do it again and usually I am also saved as the transcriber especially if no dates were added. There are two ways to go back into transcription.

#1- Go to the individual life page. Click on the pencil in the right corner of the box and choose transcription page

OR

#2- This is my go to method with my own photos:

Click on View My Profile

You will see thumbnails and the cemetery name under "My Images"

Click on the thumbnail associated with the cemetery you took photos in . Do NOT click on the cemetery name or it will take you to the main cemetery page

when you click on the thumbnail photo you will be taken to a page that says: My Uploaded Photos.

Click on one of those photos and the transcription page will pull up in another window.

Re-Transcribe the poorly done one

Click Save

Go back to the previous tab that contains your album of photos and work on the next photo in the series.

I go back and forth between these two tabs saving additional information, epitaphs and life stories associated with the headstone...things that quick transcribers don't care about.

This gives me the advantage because I am ensuring that these cemeteries are done properly! Plus often times I am saved as the transcriber when the original transcription was done poorly.

J

JamesD

said
17 days ago

Yes, I have done that second one myself. The problem comes when I take several photos of the same stone, from different angles, so I can get clearer views of some of the engraving, or a couple of angle to get one that is better than the other. My plan is to delete any unnecessary photos once the transcription is done, but somebody transcribes the utility photos that were not meant to be done.
I don’t understand why the exclusive period cannot be extended, but the alternative would be to allow uploading only a limited number of photos at a time, so you never upload more than you can manage at a time.

A

AYoung

said
14 days ago

Send in the URL's with the transcriptions and photos you want deleted. Customer support would be happy to do that for you!

C

Clara

said
1 day ago

What about the photos that were not taken through the BG App, the deadline is the same ?

I would also like to know if it is possible to gather a working group and provide a single password to develop the tombstone typing task.

A

AYoung

said
about 10 hours ago

Photos taken outside of the app are supporting records on the website and will not have the GPS markers. These do not have a 14 day window, because you upload them when you want. However, these are only searchable in the cemetery they were placed in.

It is possible to gather a working group on the cemetery volunteer page. This can be found on each cemetery main page. Click on the Join Contributor Group.